Movie Review – Evil Dead

Having only recently watched the original Evil Dead trilogy, I thought I might be less prone to automatically siding with the originals and would give this remake a fair crack of the whip.

Though a lot of the details are different, the basic premise is still the same. A bunch of kids stay in a cabin and find an old book, which they stupidly read releasing an age old demon.

Alvarez adds a more realistic reason for venturing out to the woods which made me hopeful of some character development through the story, but none of our guys and gals really give you any reason to want them to survive. I wasn’t invested, which ultimately crippled my overall feelings.

I’ll be honest, there was a point I was forced to turn it off for half hour, just to settle my stomach. I tried to blame this on being full of cold, but I’d be lying. There are several moments which are genuinely disgusting and unsettling. The usual morbid fascination I display gave way to just not wanting to watch it anymore. Kudos to the visual effects team, as they clearly outdid themselves. But there is a balance to be struck I feel, and this went too far.

I managed to sit through the entire Saw series films, and though repulsed never felt the need to move away from the screen. So for you gore-hounds out there, fill your boots. Maybe I’m just getting too old for it all.

Over the course of my interrupted viewing I arrived at a simple conclusion. Though technically impressive, this new take doesn’t have the charm and is just an exercise in revulsion. It’s sorely lacking Ash.